Network-Initiated Method and System for Establishing Data Communication Using IP with a Wireless Terminal

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus are provided for establishing data communication between a wireless network and a wireless terminal by means of a packet data protocol connection, using internet protocol. When a determination is made that the wireless terminal is active but does not have an internet protocol address, a page is initiated from the wireless network to the wireless terminal over a control channel requesting that the wireless terminal obtain a temporary internet protocol address. A temporary internet protocol address is then assigned to the terminal in response to a request from the terminal initiated in response to the page so that data communication can be established with the terminal based on the temporary address.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/980,306, filed Nov. 4, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. ______, the content ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety into thisdisclosure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and system for establishingdata transmission, including packetized voice communication, over awireless network, such as a cellular network, and, more particularly,relates to a system and a network-initiated method and system forproviding an Internet Protocol (IP) setup to enable a data transmissionwith a wireless terminal using IP.

2. Description of the Related Art

Consumer demand has steadily increased for Voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) services. In VoIP, a voice message is transmitted as packetizeddigital data in the same manner as an internet transmission, rather-thanas a traditional circuit switched voice call over the public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN). VoIP offers savings to an organization withmany locations in that a single data network can be used for both dataand voice communications. Further, an individual user can make a VoIPcall to anywhere in the world by accessing an internet web site and onlybe charged for web usage. As the demand by consumers for wirelesscommunications increases, analysts predict that consumers will demandVoIP and other IP data transmissions from wireless providers. Apart fromVoIP, data communication using wireless terminals is increasing inpopularity, with E-mail, text messages, games, software updates, andmany other applications being available through wireless networks.

Wireless communication over IP requires that a Packet Data Protocol(PDP) context be established between the wireless terminal and theServing Gateway Service Node (SGSN). Once the wireless terminal requestsand initiates a PDP context with the SGSN, the Global Gatework ServiceNode (GGSN) assigns an IP address to the wireless terminal and registersthat address. Due to the limited number of IP addresses that areassigned to each wireless provider and the very large number of wirelessterminals in existence, each wireless terminal cannot have a permanentIP address. Further, the network only assigns a dynamic IP address whenthe wireless terminal, at the initiative of the user, requests one.

Because a wireless terminal must request and obtain an IP address toestablish a PDP context and communicate by IP, a problem arises when anoriginating terminal or application (for example, a push service) wishesto transmit data via IP to a wireless terminal. Specifically, if thereceiving terminal has not previously obtained a dynamic IP address, theoriginating terminal will not be able to transmit data over a datachannel because the receiving terminal, and user, do not know that theoriginating terminal or application is attempting to set up an IPsession. It is, of course, desirable that wireless terminals be able toreceive VoIP calls and data transmissions from any number ofapplications under these circumstances. However, without prompting,there is currently no way for the receiving terminal to know to requestand obtain an IP address in this situation.

A common current method of data transmission uses the Short MessageService (SMS). SMS messaging can be used to supply limited amounts ofdata over the control channel to a mobile terminal. In this regard, thedata to be transmitted is contained in the SMS message itself and themessages are of limited length. Although the SMS messages are relativelyshort, if a large number of SMS messages are sent, a relatively largeamount of bandwidth will be required. More specifically, although SMSmessages are individually of relatively short duration and the controlchannel usually has available bandwidth, the concern is that, in thefuture, the expected increase in SMS transmissions will overload thecontrol channel and require the use of a second or third controlchannel. In fact, this is already the case in some systems, i.e., thesystems currently experience control channel congestion during busyhours, and there are systems which replace one or more voice or datachannels with an additional control channel or channels. Because theprovision of such a further control channel would be (or is) at theexpense of a valuable voice .or data channel this is obviously somethingto be avoided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with ah important aspect of the invention, a method isprovided which solves the problems discussed above associated with theinability of an originating terminal or application to conduct a datasession in an IP setting with a wireless terminal that has notpreviously obtained an IP address.

In one important implementation thereof, the system and method of theinvention use existing technology and network protocols configured andprogrammed to initiate data communication using IP with a receivingwireless terminal. As indicated above, once a wireless terminalestablishes an IP address, the terminal can transmit and receive IPtransmissions, and, generally speaking, the system and method of theinvention provide that a wireless network initiate the IP setup bysending a page over the control channel to “wake up” the wirelessterminal with an instruction to request and obtain an IP address. Thesystem and method preferably make use of control channel paging that istraditionally used to begin a voice session, rather than in establishinga PDP context for data transmission. Such a page requires significantlyless bandwidth than an SMS message; typically, 40 pages are equal to oneSMS message in terms of bandwidth.

In one preferred embodiment, the page is a standard, application-basedinstruction and instructs the terminal to obtain an IP address. It willbe understood that such an application can be any application that isattempting an IP transport to a wireless terminal. The application willcommunicate with the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) and request that thepage be sent to the wireless terminal. More particularly, in thisembodiment, the application tells the MSC to page the wireless terminalwith an SNMP request so the terminal, in response, obtains an IPaddress.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for establishing data communication between a wireless networkand a mobile wireless terminal by means of a packet data protocolconnection, using internet protocol, the method comprising:

initiating a page from the wireless network to the wireless terminalover a control channel requesting that the wireless terminal obtain atemporary internet-protocol address;

assigning a temporary internet protocol address to the wireless terminalin response to a request from the wireless terminal initiated inresponse to said page; and

establishing data communication with the wireless terminal based on saidtemporary internet protocol address.

In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, there is provideda system for establishing data communication between a wireless networkand a mobile wireless terminal by means of a packet data protocolconnection, using internet protocol, the system comprising the abovefunctions.

In one preferred implementation, the page comprises a standard commandissued by an application to the MSC and utilizing recognized industryrequirements for messages and call flow.

Advantageously the temporary internet protocol address is communicatedback to the wireless terminal and on to the requesting application.

Preferably, the request from the wireless terminal is initially receivedby a Serving Global Support Node (SGSN) of the network which establishesa packet data protocol context. Advantageously, when a packet networkprotocol context is established, a Global Gate work Support Node (GGSN)assigns said internet protocol address to wireless terminal andregisters the address.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for establishing data communication with a mobile wirelessterminal using internet protocol over a wireless communication systemincluding a control channel and at least one data channel, the methodcomprising:

determining whether the wireless terminal is active;

if the wireless terminal is active, determining whether the wirelessterminal has an internet protocol address;

if the wireless terminal does not have an internet protocol address,initiating a page over the control channel of the wireless communicationsystem requesting that the wireless terminal obtain a temporary internetprotocol address;

assigning a temporary internet protocol address to the wireless terminalin response to a request from the wireless terminal initiated inresponse to said page; and

establishing data communication with the wireless terminal on the datachannel based on the temporary internet address assigned to saidterminal.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided asystem for establishing data communication with a mobile wirelessterminal using internet protocol over a wireless communication systemincluding a control channel and at least one data channel, the systemcomprising the above functions.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided awireless communication system including a base station and a remotewireless terminal, the base station including at least one processor forestablishing data communication between a sending wireless terminal andthe remote wireless terminal by means of a packet data protocolconnection, using internet protocol, the at least one processorinitiating a page to the remote wireless terminal over a control channelrequesting that the wireless terminal obtain a temporary internetprotocol address, and said remote wireless terminal sending a requestfor a temporary internet protocol address to said at least one processorin response to said page, and said base station further includingaddress registration means for assigning a temporary internet protocoladdress to the wireless terminal in response to said request from theremote wireless terminal so as to and establish data communicationbetween the sending wireless terminal and the remote wireless terminalbased on said temporary internet protocol address.

Preferably, the address registration means comprises a Serving GlobalSupport Node and a Global Gateway Support Node.

In accordance with yet another aspect of the invention, there isprovided a computer readable medium having stored thereon at least onesequence of instructions for causing at least one processor to perform amethod for establishing data communication between a wireless networkand a wireless terminal by means of a packet data protocol connection,using internet protocol, said method comprising:

causing transmission of a page from the wireless network to the wirelessterminal over a control channel requesting that the wireless terminalobtain a temporary internet protocol address;

assigning a temporary internet protocol address to the wireless terminalin response to a request from the wireless terminal initiated inresponse to said page; and

establishing data communication with the wireless terminal based on saidtemporary internet protocol address.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be setforth in, or apparent from, the detailed description of preferredembodiments thereof which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a preferred embodiment of the method of theinvention; and

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method and system inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A system or method in accordance with the present invention may servevarious multi-technology wireless devices providing voice, data, and anyother content. The technologies employed may use digital or combinationdigital-analog technology and methods. In a preferred embodiment, themethod of the invention uses, but is not limited to, the GSM and TDMAwireless network protocols. Further, the term wireless terminal, as usedherein, includes all user devices which are (i) capable of wirelesscommunication of any type of information content using any transmissionmethod, standard, or protocol, and (ii) capable of monitoring a controlchannel or otherwise able to receive a command or instruction from thewireless network to request an IP address. In important implementationsof the invention, the wireless terminal is one which has a data channeland a control channel although it is also possible to add a controlchannel to a wireless terminal having a data communication capability.In important implementations, the wireless terminal may be a standardmobile cellular device or a standard device equipped with a GPRS(General Packet Radio Services) or EDGE (Enhanced GPRS) card.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 is a flow chart of a preferredembodiment of the network-initiated wireless terminal IP setup method ofthe invention. In order to begin a VoIP session or, more generally,transmit data to a receiving wireless terminal using an IP context, asending wireless terminal or other application seeking to establish anIP communication with the receiving wireless terminal, may, as indicatedby block 101, initiate the session by initiating a call or sending amessage to the wireless network providing service to the receivingwireless terminal. As indicated by decision diamond 102 the servingwireless network, using conventional prior art processes and protocols,locates the receiving wireless terminal and determines whether thereceiving wireless terminal is active, i.e., available forcommunication.

As illustrated by block 103, if the system is not able to locate thereceiving terminal or the receiving wireless terminal is not availablefor communication, i.e., the decision is “NO,” the system terminates thecommunications session as illustrated by block 103, and may or may notnotify the sending wireless terminal.

If the remote wireless terminal is available, i.e., the decision is“YES,” the system next determines whether the receiving terminal and itsservice provider are IP capable. This is illustrated by decision diamond104 and if the answer is “NO,” the session is again terminated asindicated by the connection to “Finish” block 103. Again, the system mayor may not notify the sending wireless terminal.

If the service provider is IP capable, i.e., the decision is “YES,” thenetwork determines whether the receiving wireless terminal is IP activeand, therefore, has already been assigned an IP address. This isillustrated by decision diamond 106. If the answer is “YES” the systembegins transmission of data or voice over IP using standard IPcommunications between the initiating terminal or application and thereceiving wireless terminal using their respective IP addressees and thedigital transmission of data over traffic channels to the receivingwireless terminal at its assigned IP address. This is illustrated byblock 107.

Up to this point, the method described is essentially conventional. Asdiscussed above, a serious problem arises when—the receiving wirelessterminal does not have an IP address. This is, of course, represented bythe “NO” branch of decision diamond 106. As illustrated by block 108, ifthe receiving wireless terminal does not have an active IP address, thenetwork will then page the terminal over the control channel and, moreparticularly, will send a “request for ID” page. In a preferredembodiment, the page used is a standard instruction in the internetStandard Network Management Protocol (SNMP). The transmitted packetitself contains the instructions for the page request and may beconstructed in many different ways.

In response to such a page, the receiving wireless terminal will requestan IP address so as to establish a PDP context with the SGSN of thenetwork. As indicated by block 109 this request is received by thenetwork and the SGSN will then request an IP address from the GGSN. Inresponse, the GGSN will assign and register an IP address for thereceiving wireless terminal, as is represented by block 110. Thisaddress is also forwarded to the wireless terminal (see block 111). Itwill be understood that once the receiving terminal has been assigned anIP address by the GGSN, transmission of data or voice over IP usingstandard IP communications can take place between the initiatingterminal or application and the receiving wireless terminal using theirrespective IP addresses, as can digital transmission of data overtraffic channels to the receiving wireless terminal at its assigned IPaddress.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown a highly schematic representation ofa system for providing that a wireless terminal, denoted 200, obtains anIP address. As discussed above, in order to establish datacommunications using IP with the wireless terminal 200 when terminal 200does not have an IP address, the MSC 202 of a core network 201 sends toterminal 200 a page, preferably for JP SNMP information, denoted 204,i.e., a command or instruction to deliver an IP address. The overallwireless system may, of course, include a communication tower or towersindicated in dashed tines at 203. The page causes terminal 200 totransmit a request for an IP address, as indicated at 206, i.e., torequest a PDP context from the SGSN 208 of the core network 201. SGSN208 is coupled to the GGSN 210 of the core network 201.

As indicated schematically in FIG. 2, a home location registry (HLR) 212is interconnected with the SGSN 208, GGSN 210, and the MSC 202. The HLR212 functions in the address registration process by first interrogatingother components (i.e., the GGSN 210) to determine whether or not thewireless terminal 200 has an IP address. If so, the HLR 212 will thenestablish the link through the GGSN 210 and SGSN 208 and thetransmission thereafter progresses. However, if the wireless terminal200 does not have an IP address, the terminal 200 will follow the normalprocess of contacting the SGSN 208 and GGSN 210 for an address andultimately returning that address to the HLR 212.

Considering this address registration process in more detail, whenterminal 200 transmits a request for a PDP context from the SGSN 208,SGSN 208 then establishes a PDP context with the wireless terminal 200and signals the GGSN 210 which, as indicated by arrow 214, assigns thewireless terminal 200 a temporary, dynamic IP address, registers theaddress with the IP computer network and forwards the address to theterminal 200. In this way, the wireless terminal 200 is thus providedwith an IP identifier to be used to identify the terminal on the IPcomputer network for IP communications. As indicated above, the HLR 212is also updated with this information.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the present invention provides asimple yet highly effective way of establishing IP data communicationswith a wireless terminal (i.e., a terminal corresponding to terminal200) that has not been assigned an IP address. By sending a simple veryshort “request IP address” page 204 over the system control channel,substantial bandwidth can be saved as compared with SMS messaging. Inthis regard, as indicated above, a page typically requires 1/40 of thebandwidth of an SMS message and, moreover, rather than incorporate thedata in the SMS message, once the terminal 200 obtains an IP address, IPdata communications can take place over the data channels in a normalmanner. As mentioned previously, the page 204 can be an existinginternet (SNMP) command and the system can use existing hardware andprotocols.

Although the invention has been described above in relation to preferredembodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat variations and modifications can be effected in these preferredembodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

1. A method of initiating a voice session between a sending wirelessterminal and a receiving wireless terminal, the method comprising:receiving a request from the sending wireless terminal to initiate aninternet protocol (IP) session with the receiving wireless terminal;determining that the receiving wireless terminal does not have an activeIP address; paging the receiving wireless terminal over a controlchannel; receiving a request for the active IP address from thereceiving wireless terminal; and assigning the active IP address to thereceiving wireless terminal.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising establishing data communication between the sending wirelessterminal and the receiving wireless terminal.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein a Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) on a network receives therequest for the active IP address from the receiving wireless terminaland requests the active IP address from a Gateway GPRS Support Node(GGSN).
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the GGSN assigns and registersthe active IP address for the receiving wireless terminal.
 5. The methodof claim 3, wherein the SGSN establishes a Packet Data Protocol (PDP)context with the receiving wireless terminal.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the paging causes the receiving wireless terminal to request theactive IP address.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the active IPaddress is a temporary, dynamic IP address.
 8. The method of claim 1,wherein the determining that the receiving wireless terminal does nothave the active IP address comprises a Home Location Register (HLR)interrogating a GGSN to determine whether or not the receiving wirelessterminal has been assigned the active IP address.
 9. The method of claim1, wherein the paging utilizes Simple Network Management Protocol(SNMP).
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the IP session is a Voiceover Internet Protocol (VoIP) session.
 11. A system for initiating avoice session, the system comprising: a wireless network; a sendingwireless terminal in communication with the wireless network; and areceiving wireless terminal in communication with the wireless network;wherein the wireless network receives a request from the sendingwireless terminal to initiate an Internet Protocol (IP) session with thereceiving device, determines that the receiving wireless terminal doesnot have an active IP address, and pages the receiving wireless terminalover a control channel.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the wirelessnetwork further receives a request for the active IP address from thereceiving wireless terminal and assigns the active IP address to thereceiving wireless terminal.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein aServing GPRS Support Node (SGSN) on the wireless network receives therequest for an active IP address from the receiving wireless terminaland requests the active IP address from a Gateway GPRS Support Node(GGSN) on the wireless network.
 14. The system of claim 13, wherein theGGSN assigns and registers the active IP address for the receivingwireless terminal.
 15. The system of claim 13, wherein the SGSNestablishes a Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context with the receivingwireless terminal.
 16. The system of claim 13, wherein a Home LocationRegister (HLR) interrogates the GGSN to determine whether or not thereceiving wireless terminal has been assigned the active IP address. 17.A non-transitory computer readable medium on a network containinginstructions for initiating a voice session between a sending wirelessterminal and a receiving wireless terminal, the instructions comprisinglogic for: receiving a request from the sending wireless terminal toinitiate an internet protocol (IP) session with the receiving wirelessterminal; determining that the receiving wireless terminal does not havean active IP address; paging the receiving wireless terminal over acontrol channel; receiving a request for the active IP address from thereceiving wireless terminal; and assigning the active IP address to thereceiving wireless terminal.
 18. The computer readable medium of claim17, wherein the computer readable medium instructs a Serving GPRSSupport Node (SGSN) on the network to receive the request for an activeIP address from the receiving wireless terminal and request the activeIP address from a Gateway GPRS Support Node (GGSN).
 19. The computerreadable medium of claim 18, wherein the determining that the receivingwireless terminal does not have the active IP address comprisesinstructing a Home Location Register (HLR) to interrogate the GGSN todetermine whether or not the receiving wireless terminal has beenassigned the active IP address.
 20. The computer readable medium ofclaim 17, wherein the paging utilizes Simple Network Management Protocol(SNMP).